Hands On Review Of The Note 9 By Eldar Murtazin

[Preach2k]

Mobile-Review‘s infamous Elder Murtazin who is spilling some early details. He says he had the opportunity to try out a Note 9 recently, in advance of the official reveal, and has shared – in Russian – a few insights (though sadly no photos).

Reflections on Samsung Galaxy Note 9 - what will be in the flagship
Hey.

Until August 9 and the announcement of Galaxy Note 9, which will be held in New York, remains a little over a month, which means it's time to talk about what this device will offer us. Just want to make a reservation that, as always, I will only talk about those things that are already well-known and disclosed in one way or another. In one of the trips to the USA, I had the opportunity to see this device, to evaluate the hardware, but not all of the services. For example, Bixby 2.0 is not yet ready, it is not available for a number of languages, including Russian, and in English it is extremely truncated. But for the remaining time they promise to tighten up the service, add new "dialogs", use scenarios. From what already exists, I can say that this is a much mature version, there are many new and interesting chips. Specifically for Bixby and implementing the strategy of development of AI-functions, Samsung combined all the services into one cloud, which the company has. This is necessary for the learning process, creating new scenarios for users, and in different countries of the world. I think that they will tell about it at the presentation, although they probably will not pay attention to it, focusing on other aspects of this device. Below I'll explain my thoughts about Note 9 and what he knows.

Positioning
In the press, the Note line is considered unquestionably the flagships from Samsung, these are devices with the maximum cost, as well as maximum saturation with technologies. A couple of years ago there was an attempt to make Note mass, to expand the audience of the product, but for many reasons this did not happen. In many respects the Note line became a revolution, as it showed the whole market that the fablets are the future and consolidated in it. But the number of improvements that could be added during the transition from generation to generation, dramatically decreased, and the remaining things were expensive.

In 2018, the Galaxy S line (the flagships of the company, which occupy the largest percentage of sales on the market for both Samsung and any Android manufacturer) went up, due to the need to add a second camera, increase the amount of memory, in a word, to increase quantitative characteristics. Thanks to the release of iPhone X, such an increase in price passed almost unnoticed, the market took the S9 / S9 +, and these models are sold perfectly, occupy the previously predicted market share. I am often asked such a question, why there are no victorious reports about S9 / S9 + sales, are they so unsuccessful? I am not a supporter of repeating the same things every day, fixing them day after day. Sell well, who cares, those know about it, the rest, perhaps it's not so important. It's worth mentioning this, and immediately the accusations of advertising,

The logic of the Samsung lineup in 2018 is very strange, the company shuffled the mid-segment models, mixed the indexes (what was planned as the J-series, suddenly became the A-series), and for the flagships it slowed the output of the three-camera devices, they were moved to 2019. It's possible that this was a miscalculation against Huawei, Samsung probably believed that the P-series did not thunder as it happened. But the fact remains, the three-module design of the main camera appeared in devices from Huawei, and Samsung simply did not have time to do the same in Note 9 (the iron was already final by that time). And there was no such desire, since it would mean completely different price benchmarks, prime cost, production economy. It is 2019 considered as the year when there will be an updated platform for the flagships, as the Note line,

Therefore, Note 9 could not be very different from Galaxy S9 + in that it knows how and how it is built, but the logic of positioning has changed, has returned to the roots. To begin with, the main emphasis will be placed on the business audience, inside the company this smartphone is no longer considered conditional, and will not try to sell it to everyone. In this there is a positive moment, as there is a clear division of the rulers - Galaxy S for everyone, Note for those who are looking for a business device. I like this approach more, since it highlights Note and makes it to some extent special.

In contrast to previous years, Samsung decided that keeping the old and new models on the market is both inexpedient, so a couple of months ago Note 8 stopped shipping. In parallel, on the shelves, these devices will not exist very long. This is a sign of the market, since Apple will do the same with the iPhone X in the same way, the opportunity to sell a new flagship in the fall and Apple does not have to supply the old model. This is another approach that we have not seen in the past.

About prices and configurations, we'll talk later, but they directly depend on this approach.

Design and Differences from Note 8
You need to have a very sharp look to distinguish Note 9 from the previous device, the front panel is similar, as well as the appearance of the devices is the same one in one. Curved screen, the presence of exactly the same materials; perhaps, the only difference is the block of cameras from the rear, they are located horizontally, and the sensor of the print was taken out under them. In general, it does not cause any inconvenience, especially as unlocking the face and iris works fine, as well as in S9 / S9 +.

The weight of the device slightly increased, it is noticeable in the hands. The fault is that the battery is now 4000 mAh, this change can only be welcomed, the work time has grown. Depending on your scenario, this can be one or two days of work. Twists the video in non-stop mode this unit at maximum brightness from 23 to 25 hours.

As usual, the SuperAMOLED screen of the last generation, again the maximum brightness increased a little, the scripts of work in new modes were added, these were improvements of all basic characteristics, but it's impossible to say that there was a breakthrough in comparison with S9 +. It's just the best screen of those on the market. The updated version of AlwaysOn Display is still in question, as it exists in prototypes, but most likely it will be left for S10. I really liked the animations and things like that on the screen in the standby mode, as well as binding to external events.

Animodzi is improved, but, as for me, this is a thing useful for a small part of the audience, and in the positioning that the device has, they do not fit in almost in any way.

The basic version of the device goes to 6/128 GB, also available are 8/256, 8/512 GB, everywhere there are memory cards. As before, there is a clear division, for the US and South Korea, the smartphone goes to Qualcomm, for the rest of the world on Exynos. Performance is maximum, in synthetic parrots it is one of the fastest devices.

A few words about the main camera. The improvement is primarily due to the diaphragm, it is also variable, as in S9 / S9 + (nothing like this in models of other manufacturers has not appeared, it is difficult to do it), increased light intensity. Draw conclusions from several photos that were made, I will not, but it seemed that optical stabilization is clearly improved. Also there are changes in the video. It is possible that they will add a smooth flow of streaming video, some professional tricks that we've already seen in the HTC U12 +.

To bring something new, completely reworked S Pen, adding support for Bluetooth. True, everything new is a well-forgotten old, in 2012 for notebooks of the Note series there was already such a pen, it could act as a wireless headset. Here they added work modes, some of them are very curious and I have never met. For a business audience, this will be interesting, including unlocking the device with a stylus (exactly, guess yourself, but not in the usual way).

Appearance in Russia, the cost
Since in Russia the S9 + is quite well sold, which is close to Note 9 at a cost in the base version, and also has a 256 GB version of the built-in memory, there is no sense in delivering the initial versions, the model is taken to the very top of the line. In fact, initially we will see a version on 8/512 GB, that is, the maximum configuration in all senses (the package also promises to please). In September, when this model appears, the cost will be from 80 to 90 thousand rubles, the price is not determined definitively, it's too early to talk about it. At the same time, a basic version appeared in Russia, it would start at a cost of 70,000 rubles a minimum.

Expensive, but this device as it did not have direct competitors, and does not have them. On the filling, the presence of S Pen, protection from water and cameras, this smartphone is one of a kind. Another thing, as far as you need support for S Pen, as practice shows, people who are used to writing pen or draw, not so much. But if you like to do it, then the alternatives simply do not exist.

Considering that I use Note 8, I did not think that I would update on Note 9, as on paper characteristics everything is more or less similar there, no breakthrough was observed. But after his first acquaintance he changed his opinion and already convinced himself that it would be necessary to take this apparatus. Why? The answer is obvious - it's S Pen and its new chips, a little bigger and better screen, more internal memory and a number of services that will be available initially on this device (the latter is more in absentia, as they did not really try them). But I was able to convince myself, because I could not find alternatives even near. And small, but noticeable improvements in the camera are also in the makeweight.

I am sure that, like a year ago, after the announcement of Note 9, Yaroslavna's usual lament will begin that nothing new has been shown, the apparatus is boring and so on. But as sales show, the Note line has found its buyer and is sold year after year stably, in the same volumes. And this is perhaps the most important thing, stability is in the way a model of such a level and such a price is sold. For the target audience, the price for such a device is not critical, since it is a segment with a share less than the market share in unit sales and those who are ready to afford a smartphone of almost any value.

Of course, the gray market for Note 9 will be noticeable, as the base models from other countries will be transported in notable quantities. The price will be around 55-60 thousand rubles, and it will decrease only after 4-6 months. This device will not be cheap, never, it is impossible. Those who want Note, but are not sure that they are ready to invest in the new device, it is worth paying attention to the current cost of Note 8 in MTS, the price of 54,990 rubles (5,000 rubles plus cashback with live money of 10,000 rubles), the initial cost 69 990 rubles. This is a good price for Note 8.
But I foresee that groans about the cost will rise again, that he is not worth his money. The answer is one, and it's simple - until tens of thousands of people in Russia buy it for that kind of money, and in the world it goes on hundreds, this model will play in this segment and at such prices.

What did you expect from Note 9? Can you imagine something that should have been out of functions, technologies?